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Will all my old programs work on my new computer?

Modified on: Fri, 7 Apr, 2017 at 9:33 AM

Most of your existing programs should work perfectly after you transfer the associated files and registry settings to the new computer with PCmover.In some cases, however, you may find that the program will not work on the new PC, in which case you will need to reinstall the program from the original disks or contact the program manufacturer for assistance in getting it to work on the new computer.

Why would this be?The software does a decent job in determining any issues with compatibility on the newer OS; by default any applications found to be incompatible will not be moved at all. The end users are presented with the opportunity to review these findings and make changes, however we strongly recommend that they do not. Some applications will be flagged as potential issues and should also not be moved.Nowadays the bulk of the issues involve migrating from an older Windows XP installation to a new Windows 7 or 8-64bit machine, because most older XP programs are simply incompatible with the newer 64 bit operating systems, this of course does not affect Data and Settings.Here are some circumstances under which a program may not migrate successfully:

The program needs updated drivers. When you are migrating a program into a newer operating system, that program may now require a new driver in order to work within that system or with the different hardware on the new computer. You will need to reinstall the program on the new PC manually, at which time the new driver information should be detected normally.

The drivers associated with the program can’t be transferred. Some system utilities (for example certain anti-virus programs) may need to be re-installed after the migration because system drivers used by the program cannot be transferred.

The program is copyright protected. A small number of software programs are copyright protected in such a way that the program verifies at startup that it is running on the same computer on which it was initially installed. When such programs are copied to a new computer, they will refuse to run until they are re-installed manually or re-activated on the new computer. Note: This rule applies to certain files containing DRM (Digital Rights Management) information. These types of files can include music and multimedia files.

The program is incompatible with the new operating system. If you are upgrading from one operating system to another, each program that is copied to the new computer must be compatible with the new operating system. Some older DOS and Windows programs, for instance, are not compatible with Windows XP. These programs will not run on a Windows XP system whether they are installed from scratch or copied over with a migration application such as PCmover.

The program contains non-transferable system settings. System utilities such as anti-virus or anti-spyware programs, and some other applications that install system services on the PC may contain system settings that cannot be transferred with migration software. These programs will need to be manually reinstalled.

The program contains a hardware fingerprint. Some programs are dependent on a specific piece of hardware in your PC. These programs will not work unless the same piece of hardware is installed on the new PC. In such case, you must install the hardware in the new system and then manually reinstall the program.

It must also be noted that some software publishers are very aggressive in enforcing their licensing policies, so after a successful migration, it is not uncommon that some programs on the new computer will prompt for Registration or Activation; in which case the original product key must be provided, and in the absence of multiple licenses, the original program on the old computer could require deactivation. It is the end user's responsibility to understand and to remain in full compliance with the software publisher's requirements.